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Glock 17 vs SIG Sauer P320 / M17: how to tell them apart

Two military pistols that are easy to mix up at a glance. Here is what tells them apart.

Glock 17, pistol from Austria

Glock 17

Pistol, Austria. In service since 1982

What gives it away

Square, flat-topped slide on a polymer frame; no hammer or thumb safety, only a small blade in the middle of the trigger.

Used by

Armed forces and police in dozens of countries incl. UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Austria

Photo: Hrd10, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
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SIG Sauer P320 / M17

Pistol, USA. In service since 2017

What gives it away

Polymer frame with a squared slide and angled front serrations; the US M17 is coyote brown with an ambidextrous thumb safety.

Used by

USA (M17/M18), Denmark, and others

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